Pain followed Manny Gamburyan (12-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) throughout his camp in preparation for a fight with Chad Mendes (13-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) at UFC 157, but he fought going to the doctor.

After breaking his thumb during sparring, a trip was unavoidable. It was then Gamburyan learned he also had a fractured elbow.

“I just want to apologize to the fans and (UFC President) Dana White and the UFC,” he told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I’ve been training really hard. We’ll fight down the road for sure.”

Sports Illustrated’s Melissa Segura first tweeted news of the injury. It’s not yet known whether a replacement has been found for Mendes, whose rep did not respond for comment. The featherweight fight was scheduled for the pay-per-view main card of the Feb. 23 event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Gamburyan said he flew to Las Vegas to personally request the matchup to White, and was heartbroken when he got the news he would have to withdraw.

“My team was the main event, and we’ve been training together for many years, and I really wanted to be part of it too,” said Gamburyan, who trains with UFC 157 headliner and women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey.

Although he knew immediately when he broke his thumb, Gamburyan was unaware of the extent of the damage to his elbow. He trained through the injury for three months.

“I didn’t want to go for an MRI,” he said. “I didn’t want to know the results. Either way, I really wanted to fight.”

Gamburyan anticipated he’ll be sidelined for the next three months, but will know more when he meets next week with an orthopedic doctor.

“The Anvil” most recently appeared at UFC on FOX 4, where he earned a unanimous decision over Michihiro Omigawa. The win put him back on the right track after a three-fight skid that threatened his employment with UFC parent Zuffa.

Mendes was last seen in the cage at UFC on FX 6, where he earned a first-round KO of Yaotzin Meza.